A few months ago I was at Higher Ed Camp in a session on Universal Design. As participants went back and forth on the finer details and challenges of incorporating Universal Design principles I couldn’t help but get the feeling that we were all missing the point – what it means to students.
I raised my hand and shared the story of my own son and what it had meant to him, as a student with a brain-based permanent disability, to be at an institution (not my own) that required certain aspects of all courses be accessible. The conversation immediately stopped and moments later the bell went, ending the session. For the rest of the day I had other participants approach me to say that what I had said changed the way they view Universal Design. It was that day that I decided I needed to record my son, in his words, speaking about the topic. The result is about two minutes long.
What he doesn’t say in the video is that he never completed high school however he is now doing very well in post-secondary – with even a few final grades in the 90s. This is a message I believe everyone should hear.
The principles of Universal Design have very real, often unseen, impacts on students. I’m certain that his teachers, the administration and other people at his school have no idea of the effect these methods have on students like Cody – and honesty that’s how students like Cody like it.
What a powerful message that both you and your son are sharing! I was recently at a conference in which we had the option to attend a short breakout session on Universal Design. I took advantage of the session and the one take away that really stuck with me was a comment made by the facilitator on UD and AODA. Essentially, what she said was that you are only not in compliance when you are not willing to try. As a faculty member and someone who works with students as an assistive technologist, this was a very simple but powerful statement.
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